Vulnerable ‘being failed’ by struggling supermarkets

The chains have been unable to meet demand for delivery slots, leaving some of the most at-risk people short of food. Jessica Beard investigates

Thousands of people risk going hungry as supermarkets buckle under the demand for home deliveries. Some 1.5 million individuals, identified by the Government as extremely vulnerable, and millions more who have been asked to “shield” are facing a battle for food.

Supermarkets have been rushing to give priority to the most vulnerable, with the help of the Government, which has given the largest firms access to a list of those who need help the most.

However, the chains have been unable to deliver to all of those included. The chief executives of Tesco and Morrisons have said they are expanding capacity as quickly as possible but have acknowledged that they will not reach everyone.

One reader, Ms McCarty from Cheshire, said neither her parents nor her husband’s parents had been able to get a delivery slot. This is despite her father being 91 with heart disease and her mother being 87 with autoimmune disease. Her husband’s father is between two cancer operations.

She said: “We are appalled at the barrier we have in trying to get slots with any supermarket. I’m at the end of my tether and they’re living on next to no food. I’ve been calling for up to five hours a day but the phone is repeatedly put down on me.”

You can register as “extremely vulnerable” on a Government website. However, to qualify you must have certain types of cancer, a severe respiratory condition, a rare disease or be the recipient of a solid organ transplant. Those on immunosuppression therapies or are pregnant with a heart condition are also included.

Many who would count themselves as extremely vulnerable do not fall into any of these categories and do not get priority help. This is the case for Ms McCarty, who said her mother had autoimmune disease but was not undergoing therapy and therefore did not qualify. She said she had called her doctor’s practice for help but was told there was nothing it could do. Sainsbury’s later said it had added Ms McCarty’s parents and parents-in-law to its list.

Even those who qualify for priority deliveries have had trouble booking a slot. Blood Cancer UK, a charity, has written to the Government and supermarkets to urge them to act faster in prioritising deliveries for people classed as “very high risk” after it received numerous calls from cancer patients struggling to get food.

Gemma Peters from the charity said: “We are at the point where some people are having to choose between going hungry and making a trip to the supermarket that could be fatal.”

Supermarkets have been emailing those who have successfully registered and who hold an account with them. However, even after receiving this, many still failed to get access to food.

Peter Clubbe, from Chester, said an email from Sainsbury’s on April 3 told him he would be given priority for online delivery. He has since repeatedly tried to book, with no success. He said: “I appreciate this is difficult, but to inform customers that they are ‘priority’ only to present them with a system that doesn’t work is worse than doing nothing at all.”

There are alternatives to the large supermarkets if you are not able to leave your home and cannot secure a delivery slot. Volunteers on the NHS scheme can be contacted and asked to run errands if you have registered your needs. You can also try local shops such as butchers, farm shops, bakeries and even cafés, as many are running delivery services.

Several smartphone applications have been developed to connect those who need help with those who can run errands. An app called Pinga allows people to make requests and matches them with someone who can help locally, often with someone who is already at a shop anyway. Michael Goulden, the founder, said use had been increasing rapidly.